The Secret Cult Chronicles of the Decaying Lake Manor

At lunchtime, the family seemed completely oblivious to the strange occurrences around the manor, and the viscount's daily absences seemed to have become commonplace.

The atmosphere was even more relaxed than when the Viscount was present.

After dinner, George changed his clothes and came downstairs on time as agreed. Bates was already waiting in the foyer.

After exchanging a few words, the two walked together toward the lakeside on the east side of the mansion.

From afar, they could see the bustling scene by the lake.

Under the direction of Old Man Mo and the gardener, more than ten people were using long-handled rakes and shovels to gather the piled-up frog carcasses together and put them into huge burlap sacks.

Most of these frog carcasses were stiff and blackened, emitting a stench that made people hold their noses.

The resentment of cold-blooded amphibians in the air was almost tangible.

George noticed that most of the people present were unfamiliar faces rather than servants from the manor. Judging from the appearance of old man Mo and the wise gardener, these people were probably mostly guards and gardener's assistants.

Carson, the butler, was also present. He was wearing a dark coat, standing ramrod straight, and whispering something to the old man.

Upon seeing George arrive, he immediately went to greet him.

"Young Master, you've arrived."

George nodded in greeting and asked, "How's it going, Carson?"

His gaze swept over the ravaged lakeshore.

The number of dead frogs was staggering; after purification rituals and natural death, their carcasses covered vast stretches of mudflats.

"We're working on the cleanup, young master," Carson's voice was as calm as ever. "We've already packed away a dozen bags, and we expect to finish the initial processing before dinner. After that, we'll sprinkle lime on it to prevent rotting and the spread of disease."

George nodded. "Well done."

He took off his coat, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and took a long-handled rake from a thin young man next to him.

"I'll help too. Lieutenant, please check the surroundings for anything unusual."

Bates accepted the order and walked towards the edge of the woods a little further away, carrying his cane and surveying his surroundings.

Carson brought George a work apron and a mask, then gestured for the servants to continue working.

George joined the cleanup effort; his movements were not very skilled, but he was diligent enough.

The rake was difficult to drag along the stiff corpses on the ground, and the stench in the air was nauseating.

While working, he would occasionally exchange brief words with the people next to him, asking them how they slept last night and whether they had been frightened.

The servants were initially a little reserved, but seeing the young master's calm demeanor, they gradually relaxed.

About half an hour later, George's forehead was covered in sweat.

He handed the rake back to the young man, took off his apron and gave it to Carson, saying:

"This is your responsibility, Carson. Make sure everyone takes turns resting, and provide extra beer if necessary. I'll take Bates to check out the woods over there."

To George's surprise, as Carson took the apron, she suddenly said to him:

"Thank you for your guidance, young master. It's very encouraging. Perhaps you'd like to check on Mr. Elliott's recovery later. The servants downstairs, and I, would all be very happy to do so."

After saying this nonsensical sentence, he left on his own.

George watched the butler's retreating figure, forcing himself to turn his head away, preventing himself from chasing after him to ask questions.

The reason is simple: although the butler's words seemed reasonable, they were not in line with his usual behavior.

Why mention Eliot, yet emphasize oneself in particular?

With a hint of suspicion, George found the lieutenant who was looking around.

Upon seeing him approach, Lieutenant Bates said, "With this number of evil creatures, it seems the Army would need to use its new steam-powered cannons for a saturation attack to completely stop them."

Whether before or after his time travel, George was not very familiar with military technology.

But he also knew very well that in his previous life, "steam engines" and "cannons" were usually only put together when transportation was involved.

How do the armies in this world solve security problems?!

However, he didn't dwell on the issue too much, and simply replied:

"My father's methods were very effective against these polluting creatures, and after the monster at the bottom of the lake was killed, all these disgusting creations died out."

"I thought so too." Bates stopped grinding the remaining slime from the corpse with the tip of his shoe and gestured to George, "Come and see."

He walked to the side, picked up his cane, and began to point.

"Judging from the area I just walked through, the distribution of these frogs seems to be uneven. This includes the boundary near the mansion, as well as the lake shore where we are now."

Bates tapped the ground with the tip of his cane, drawing an arc along the area where the frog carcasses were most concentrated.

"Look closely at the pattern of these piles of corpses—they are not evenly scattered. The piles of corpses extend from the lake shore toward the manor, where they are blocked outside the manor. However, the corpses are noticeably sparser on the south side of the manor."

He turned towards the east side of the dock: "And over there, there are almost no frog carcasses on the path leading to the dock, which doesn't seem like the uncontrolled spread of natural organisms. Even the boatman you described who rowed here didn't seem to be affected by these frogs."

George raised an eyebrow and asked uncertainly, "So your conclusion is that this disaster left us vulnerable near the docks?"

"Maybe, but without corroboration from the other side, it's just speculation." Bates slung his cane over his shoulder, looked into the distance, and muttered to himself in a cryptic tone.

Natural disasters have causes, while man-made disasters have motives. If there are no special forces beneath the surface of the world, we don't need to think too much about it...

He suddenly turned to George and said, "We need to get the blueprints and figure out the structure of Paradise Island before the 'guest' you mentioned arrives."

-----------------

After exchanging views by the lake, George, back at the mansion, found Bates's "observer's perspective" to be quite useful.

Not to mention, the lieutenant can also connect scattered pieces of information with a soldier's keen eye.

George thought of the Viscount's cool flaming sword and wondered if he could make one someday.

Perhaps then, I can help Lieutenant Bates upgrade his knife.

Perhaps because of the tiring day with its ups and downs, George found the oxtail soup with cognac for dinner particularly delicious, and the roasted beef tenderloin quite sweet as well.

My uncle, who was full of energy at the dinner table, probably thought so too; he was perhaps one of only two people at the table with a big appetite and the only one with plenty of energy.

This resident of the New World kept asking his "dear cousin" Uncle Albert about hunting, his words revealing his longing for nature and "wild game."

"If I'm not mistaken, it's currently the season for hunting foxes, grouse, and deer in the kingdom. It's such a shame we can't go hunting!"

George guessed that his uncle was perhaps expressing his dissatisfaction with being stuck in the house all day in this way.

In contrast, the old lady was clearly not in the mood for small talk, and George noticed that his younger brother and sister were also listless at the dinner table for some reason.

After a dinner where his uncle kept the atmosphere lively, George approached his uncle Albert and suggested that he consult the survey maps and architectural drawings of Paradise Island the next day.

The uncle didn't seem surprised; on the contrary, he was quite pleased with George's sudden interest. He gently agreed and promised to have the information prepared as soon as possible.

When George returned to his room, he found an extra key on the table.

The note left beside him told him that this was the key to the temporary alchemy room brought by the butler.

This made him go to the alchemy room again in a pleasant mood.